Ready For Your Closeup? Facetime on the iPhone
With the new iPhone announcement today, it looks like we’re a click away from mobile video chats. Wouldn’t it be great if the iPhone could also double as a mirror for a quick face check, when the phone rings. (There must be an app for that.)
Why Husbands Flirt?
Sounds like a popular, self-help book. Actually, it’s a silent film from 1918, uncovered in a New Zealand archive, along with more than 70 other movies, now being preserved and on the way home to the States. Most prominent of the group is John Ford’s Upstream (1927), about a backstage romance with an actor and a target girl from a knive-throwing act (how cool is that?). I’m also psyched to see The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies (1914), featuring an intrepid woman reporter, and The Girl Stage Driver (1914). Must’ve been the turn of the last century, when women were getting the good parts. And it’s comforting to know that a flirting husband is a phenomenon with roots.
When It Paid To Be Single
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, whose passage by the U.S. Congress, at long last, gave women the right to vote. It was a protracted, vicious battle, which began in earnest more than 70 years earlier, in 1848, at the women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. But the opportunity for diverse employment took decades longer and one of the first prized professions open to women was becoming a stewardess. There were strict rules in the early days. You had to be single, a registered nurse, under 115 pounds and less than 5’4” tall. It took until 1968 and the second wave of feminism for these rigid job conditions to be eliminated. Here’s some hard-to-imagine trivia from the archives of United Airlines: Continue reading »
Looking For Some Street Cred
While we were traveling around Italy during the last few weeks, my photographer friend, Miguel, took hundreds of shots of street art. (I posted one of them a few days ago.) And it got me interested in seeing Exit Through the Gift Shop, the documentary film, or as the Times calls it, a prankumentary, directed by the famed British graffiti artist, Banksy. It was a hit at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and looks really cool. Check out the trailer.
The Audacious Life of Louise Bourgeois
A couple of years ago, I bought a framed poster of an etching by Louise Bourgeois featuring the words BE CALM in huge letters. I hung it in my hallway, a major thoroughfare at home, with the hope that the message would sink in. (It didn’t.) But I’m sure Ms. Bourgeois, who died this week at 98, could relate…
“The subject of pain is the business I am in,” she said. “To give meaning and shape to frustration and suffering. The existence of pain cannot be denied. I propose no remedies or excuses.”
Louise Bourgeois was the first woman to have a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. This 1982 photo of her clutching her piece Fillette, was taken by Robert Mapplethorpe for the catalogue.
Is it Inevitable to Get Depressed After Vacation?
I’ve been home for 48 hours, and already the bliss of Italy is slipping away. Is it just the universe evening up the score that I returned to a jury summons (now that’s cruel) and a nagging toothache? At least I get to relive the high points when someone asks about my trip, as I describe the scrumptious food, mind-blowing scenery, and deep pleasure of walking for hours through the ancient, cobblestoned streets.
Photograph by Miguel Torres of a stencil on a Roman building. Artist unknown.
Arrivederci Roma
On my last day in Italy, I’m soaking in the romantic ambience and fantastic food. Our spacious apartment near the Piazza Navona, is a few blocks away from an outdoor food market, and the carts are loaded with spring vegetables, olives and cheese. There’s no more room in my luggage, otherwise, I’d take this hunk of Reggiano along for the ride home. Continue reading »
5 Food Highlights from Rome (so far)
On this trip to Italy, I haven’t had to research where to eat, thanks to Mol, a friend and most able food guide. She’s a world traveler, currently based in Rome with her husband, and has exquisite and inquisitive taste. Mol knows all the best local eateries for pasta, pizza, gelato, cappuccino. What a vacation! Continue reading »
Room with a View
In our locanda in Venice, the preferred rooms are the ones with the canal view. Mine faced the street. Yet how lucky, first thing this morning, to catch a glimpse into the building across the way, as this couple made pasta together. (FYI, the man was in his underwear.)
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